So the one that I bought, made in China, made out of lead is not so good? It was cheaper.
Next time you use the oven to bake something else, rinse and oil the pan and put it on the bottom shelf - and leave it in there until the oven cools - no need to waste energy doing it.
Ah, another member of the old school I see. You can keep your newfangled Crisco, nothing seasons a pan better than human adipose, well rubbed in…*
I also like the way food tastes cooked in cast iron, but I grew up with iron skillets. I do use the non-stick coated pan for some things, but eggs, meat sauces, pan fried chicken etc–only the cast iron.
*mods, I am joking. I’d never! well, rarely ever.
I used the last of my rendered Dodo fat for my current pan - I guess it’s going to have to be Passenger Pigeon or Great Auk for the next one.
What, now you want me to BAKE, too?
My husband would keel over dead if he came home and found I’d actually BAKED something.
Hmmm, guess I could do it next time I cook a frozen pizza.
Good idea, thanks for pointing that out!
C’mon, you’ve got a cast iron pan - you’re a chef now.
If you have a large (covered) grill it works better–don’t heat up (or stink up) the house. Just watch the temperature (350-400 deg. F).
It’s a good idea to put the cold cast iron in the oven (or grill) for a minute or two to warm the surface before applying the fat (I use shortening). This allows it to melt slightly and spread well.
I clean mine with hot water and a sponge. I then wipe it down with a paper towel, Then put it on the burner on “high” until the water starts to evaporate. I then rub just a dab of Crisco into it, and set it to the side (on a thick oven mitt) to cool. It’s as smooth as the silly simile.
Try frying eggs in yours, or (even better) make eggs in a basket. Oh. My. God. That’s good stuff.
I understand that tomatoes are quite acidic, but I’ve read that in order for them to react with metals, two different metals must be present to create the effect.
In other words, if you cook a tomato dish with cast iron, and you cover it with cast iron, the rapid oxidation won’t occur. However, if you cook something in cast iron or steel, and then cover it with aluminum foil, then the reaction and the out of control oxidation will occur.
So are you really getting more iron than normal from cast iron pans if you cook tomatoes in them?
Some sources, such as Lodge and WokShop, say to do your initial seasoning with the pan upside down in a hot oven. The seasoning is actually burned oils. If some parts remain sticky, they’ll harden up after a few use cycles.
After I brush out my iron goods with hot water, I dry them with paper towels, then heat. They’d blacken your good dishtowels, so use paper. While still warm, I spray a little PAM on a paper towel and wipe down the pan, inside and out. It doesn’t take much.
(bolding mine)
Aaah, that brings back fond memories. A few years ago after my SO and I bought our first house we decided to buy a cast iron skillet because we felt a house wasn’t a home without one. (There’s just NO making fried chicken in anything but cast iron.) The day after we bought it I decided I would surprise her by going through the *simple * process of treating it before she got home. Given that I am ubiquitous in my buffoonery this task turned out to be anything but simple.
I slathered our new Culinary Idol with Crisco, turned it upside down on the oven rack, turned my oven on and sat down to read. I was startled away from my book by black smoke billowing from the kitchen. It seems that the melted Crisco decided to obey the Laws of Gravity and drip down onto the heating element of our acursed electric oven. (I’m asking Santa for a gas stove.)
A bit taken aback I leaped into the kitchen and opened the oven door. Apparently the billowing black smoke was not enough evidence that the oven was on fire.
Lo and behold! As I opened the door flames flicked out toward my, obviously empty, head. I slammed the door and grabbed the fire extinguisher (the very fire extinguisher my SO made fun of me for buying.) and doused the fire.
My SO came home to find me on my knees scrubbing out fire extinguisher crud from the inside of the oven.
Me: Hi honey. I seasoned the skillet. I mean I* really * seasoned the skillet.
Her: (Shakes head and laughs.)
I guess she knows me too well to be surprised that I damn near burned the house down. On the upside, she hasn’t made fun of me since for the fire extinguishers I have strategically placed about the house.
Now, we use that thing all fall and winter long from cooking steaks to making omelets to whipping up vegetable medleys. There’s just no taste quite like cooking something in cast iron. We take it camping too.
I do have one question about cast iron skillets regarding something that came up in a thread a while ago.
Is it better to use cast iron or a teflon coated skillet when preparing pan fried semen?
The Chao Goes Mu: as I’m sure you’re now aware, to avoid the smoke, you need to put down some kind of drip pan to catch the Crisco. Gas ovens heat unevenly, so you’re probably better off with electric. Gas stovetops are great though.
Yes. Yes I am aware of that now. I mean, DUH!! 
Hheheh…ahem…sigh.
Well, yeah, although the gas ovens can heat unevenly, I grew up cooking with one and got accustomed to making the necessary adjustments. With electric ovens I always end up burning dinner. Or, you know, catching the damn thing on fire.
I read a tip somewhere (maybe Alton Brown?) and it’s worked well for me ever since. If your cast iron pan needs scrubbing, use a little hot water and a bunch of salt to make a paste, then scrub with a paper towel. Kosher salt works best for me.
I was watching one of those "how it is made’ shows, and they showed how they pre-seasoned cast iron skillets.
Basically, the pans hang in a huge oven. They raise the pan temp and lower it. I forget how many cycles (a lot) but they also spray the pans with a oil/season mist during the process.
Just a quick FYI, for those who are new to the wonderful world of cast-iron cookware. ( I found this out the hard way - learn from my experience!) If you don’t wipe all the water out after cleaning, it will rust! If it does, scour it off with steel-wool then re-season the pan. Won’t hurt it any.
Add me to the list of cast-iron pan “converts.” I’m doing the weight-loss thing, and, as a well-seasoned pan is essentially non-stick, you can pan-fry and stir fry with little to no additional oil!
I thought for sure the rest of this would deal with the semen question 
. Bwahaha The Chao Goes Mu, maybe we should start a fire extinguisher thread next!
I did try a couple of the techniques listed here, the boiling water (which worked really well) and sticking it in the oven after we’d heated pizzas. It’s still there. 
I forgot all about it.
I feel like I’m part of some Secret Society now, maybe I need a lapel pin, a tiny frying pan? 
Yeah, seasoning can get pretty smokey. The way I avoid it is to get out the Svea No.1 kerosene stove and season the pans outside.
I’d like a pin too please. Do we have to season it?
I have kind of a dumb question. Is there anything that shouldn’t be cooked in a cast iron skillet. And because I know how some doper minds work (in the gutter like mine) , what I mean is, rather than cast iron, it would need to be cooked in some other type of skillet.
I’m glad you asked. Yes, it’s kittens